June 2005

Is one backup set on your tape bad, and rest good? Are they all unreadable? How many are there?

The Map Tape Contents Test will show everything that has been written on a tape. File marks, tape marks, data, and the read error count for each group of data blocks. Run this non-destructive test on any previously written tape to see how the data is arranged, how many file marks separate data files, and how many read errors are encountered when reading the data blocks.

How are people using BAM?

Many of the tools in the SCSItoolbox Suite come to be when our programmers need a something special in order to do their work. We develop the tool, and if it is especially useful we add it into the SCSItoolbox Suite. And that’s how BAM came to be.

This month we did an informal survey of our developers and support staff and some customers – asking the question “How have you used BAM this week”. We’re printing the answers here with the idea that seeing how other people are using BAM might give you some new ideas of how it can help you do your job better, or at least easier.

I used BAM to:

make sure that a test I was writing had the correct ratio of write and read commands

confirm the burst and overall transfer rate to a new tape drive

check a device firmware update for impact on command latency times

find a bug in my application where I was sending MODE SELECT data incorrectly

confirm a backplane problem

measure the command queuing depth and average I/O size of a Windows application

Observe the I/O activity of an application

Check the data sent by an application that corrupts blocks on a disk drive

Confirm how Windows dealt with a device that reset itself upon error

Check driver status when an I/O times out

Determine exactly how much data is transferred when a data underrun occurred

Check if other applications or OS “features” are sending I/O to my device during test

Everyone asked replied that the more they use BAM the more uses they find for it. So if you haven’t used BAM yet, start today! It’s included in the SCSItoolbox Suite, it’s got its own desktop icon – it’s ready to help you now!

End-User Tools :: Why your company shouldn’t run without them

What is an End-User Tool?

An End-User Tool is a utility program that is written to help with the following functions:

Capture relevant information from the system for engineering troubleshooting

Competitive edge for marketing and sales (Offering a solution a competitor isn’t)

What End-User Tools has SCSI Toolbox written or have been a part of?

Client

Application

Hewlett Packard

End user tape tool for reduction of NPFs

Hewlett Packard

Firmware download tool for Network Server Division

Mylex

Firmware download tool functioning through RAID pass through mode

Sony Electronics

Windows based firmware download tool

Sony Electronics

End-User Tape Tool (DriveTools – STU)

STK/SUN/Oracle

Service tool for worldwide field service group

Seagate

SeaTools Enterprise End-user diagnostic tool

Overland Storage

End-User Tape Tool (TOD – Tech On a Disk)

Comverse

Field Service diagnostic tool

Hitachi

End-user firmware download tool

How much do End-User Tools cost?

End-User Tools have a price range, typically ranging from no more than the price of a handful of SCSItoolbox Suite licenses or more depending on how elaborate your needs are. End-User Tools are indispensable , once in place and utilized the End-User tool will pay for itself in no time at all.

Q. “I have a video NLE workstation. I know my disks are plenty fast, so why should I care about A/V disk optimization?”

A. “You might be surprised what small correctable disk errors will do to your fast disk transfer rate – but you don’t need to be surprised, just run the A/V Data Performance Test to see for yourself. And then use the A/V Optimization Command to optimize your disk for reliable A/V use.”